Ice crusher



Oct. 5, 1965 A. w. WAKEMAN ICE CRUSHER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 29, 1963 ALFRED W. WAKEMAN Oct. 5, 1965 w. WAKEMAN 3,210,019

ICE CRUSHER Filed Nov. 29, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ALFRED W. WAKEMAN United States Patent 3,210,019 ICE CRUSHER Alfred W. Wakeman, Durham, Conn., assignor to Dynamics Corporation of America, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 326,672 2 Claims. (Cl. 241301) This invention relates generally to an ice crushing device and more specifically to an ice crushing device having a unique discharge spout.

The ice crushing mechanism including the blade as illustrated in the present drawings is shown and described in US. Patent No. 2,905,398 entitled, Ice Cracking Apparatus, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Reference may be made to this patent for specific details of the blade and chamber arrangement.

Most of the ice crushers in use today, including the crusher shown in the above-identified patent, have discharge spouts which extend outwardly from the housing of the device itself in order to direct the crushed ice from the crushing chamber to a container, bag, or the like. These discharge spouts are firmly connected to the housing and remain in an extended position even when the device is not in use. Such an extending spout presents a number of problems. Initially, the extended spout requires a greater shipping volume for the manufacturer and, thus, a larger container than would be necessary if the spout did not extend outwardly from the housing. Additionally, when the device is in normal use by the consumer there is a danger of damage to the spout which could be greatly reduced if the spout were movable to a substantially flush position when the device is not in use. A further disadvantage of the fixed spout is that the opening provides an access for dust and dirt into the mixing or crushing chamber. Therefore, if the spout were closed so as to cover the discharge mouth of the chamber when not in use, it would substantially prevent such dust or dirt from passing into the crushing chamber.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide apparatus for reducing relatively large pieces of ice to relatively small pieces of ice.

Another object of this invention is to provide ice crushing apparatus having a unique discharge spout arrangement.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an ice crusher including a discharge spout which is pivotally mounted so as to direct the cracked ice outwardly when in use and to cover the discharge opening when not in use in order to prevent dust and dirt from passing into said device.

A further object of this invention is to provide an ice crusher having a discharge spout movable to a position substantially flush with the housing when not in use so as to reduce the possibility of damage to the spout as Well as the packing and storage volume necessary.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled device;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the discharge spout used in the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view as shown in FIG. 2 with the discharge spout in its closed or inoperative position.

Turning now more specifically to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a generally rectangular housing 11 ha-v- "ice ing an ice chute 13 for receiving relatively large pieces of ice such as cubes from a household tray. A discharge spout 15 is shown in its extended position at the front of the housing and the normal support legs 17 are secured to the bottom of the housing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the interior of the housing 11 is accessible by means of a removable back 12. The back may have venting means 18 in order to prevent overheating of the motor and, as shown, an on-off switch 16 extends through the back of the housing. The electrical leads from the switch extend down to the electrical motor 25 but are not shown in detail for purposes of clarity.

A plunger 19 or the like may be provided for forcing the ice deposited in the chute 13 downwardly against the upwardly projecting point of the cutter element 23. A sweeping blade 24 is formed integral with the cutting blade 23 in order to impel the ice outwardly through the discharge spout 43 of the chamber 21. The blade 23 and sweeper 24 are securely mounted on a shaft 27 which is rotated by means such as an electric motor 25.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the spout 15 comprises a curved upper surface 31 for deflecting the crushed ice downwardly as it is ejected from the crushing chamber. A contoured top surface 33 is integral with the curved surface 31 and terminates in an extending lip 35. A U-shaped flange 37 extends outwardly from the lip 35 and has a pin 39 across the opening thereof. The side walls 29 have small apertures 41 therethrough in order that the entire spout may be pivotally mounted to the housing by means such as a rivet 5 3, FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, and the enlarged view of FIG. 5, the chamber 21 has an integral discharge mouth 43 extending therefrom. The lower wall of the discharge mouth has an integral notched leg 49 which mates with the recessed wall 51 of the housing 11. The lower wall 47 then terminates in a downwardly extending lip 50. A rigid plate 55, which may be of metal or the like, is secured to the wall-s of chamber 21 by means such as rivets 56, FIG. 4. The plate 55 has a central aperture created by upwardly extending flange 57. Flange 57 is of a dimension such that the ice chute 13 may be press-fit therein and retained in position by the flange. The rear of plate 55 is shown terminating in upwardly extending legs 59 to which the back 12 of the housing may be secured by means such as screws (not shown). The forward part of the plate 55 has a centrally extending downward section 63 which conforms generally to the upper area of the discharge mouth 43 thereby providing a substantially closed discharge passage from the chamber 21. Legs 61 extend upwardly from either side of the downwardly extending section 63 and may be mounted by means of screws to lugs 62 which are integral with the housing. The upper section of the forward plate part is cut suificiently so that a tab member 65 may be bent at an angle outwardly therefrom. A hole is drilled through the tab so as to receive one end of a spring 67. The other end of the spring is bent and secured about the pin 39 of the discharge spout.

The primary purpose of the spring 67 is to bias the discharge spout into its closed position as shown in FIG. 5 when the device is not in use. The resiliency of spring 67 is such that the force of the crushed ice being ejected by the sweeper 24 out of the chamber 21 is sufiicient to overcome the bias of the spring and thus move the spout outwardly to the position shown in FIG. 2 and in dotted lines in FIG. 5. Preferably, an overcenter spring is used so that the spout will be biased in either its closed or its open position. Such an overcenter spring is illustrated in the drawings in the form of a steel spring having 1 /2 loops with one end connected to the tab 65 and the other end wrapped about the pin 39.

When the device is not in use, and the cover is closed as shown in FIG. 5, the discharge mouth is covered and the spout is substantially flush with the housing so as to avoid damage thereto and reduce the necessary storage area. As the ice is ejected through the discharge mouth 33by means of the sweeper blade 24, it forces the spout 15 outwardly past the over-center position of the spring which then biases the spout outwardly into the position shown in FIG. 2 and maintains it in that position while the device is in operation. After use, the spout may then be manually returned to the position shown in FIG. 5. The upper surface 33 of the spout is contoured so as to rest against the downwardly extending section 63 of the plate 55 when the device is in use. The recessed wall section 51 is notched at either side thereof so as to receive the wall sections 29 of the spout and allow them to pass inwardly of the housing to the position as shown in FIG. 5. It is to be understood that the drawings and description of the general ice crushing device are illustrative only and that the unique spout arrangement could be used with any ice crushing device which expels the crushed ice with a force sufficient to overcome the spring bias. Additionally, any type of spring or overcenter spring could be used to accomplish the same purpose so long as the resilience of the spring is properly chosen in relation to the force exerted by the impelled ice.

Accordingly, the illustrations and descriptions are considered to be illustrative only and the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An ice crushing device which comprises, a housing, a chamber within said housing, a tubular chute positioned above said chamber for feeding ice downwardly into said chamber, rotatable means for cracking ice in said chamher, a discharge mouth extending from said chamber outwardly through said housing, an arm on said rotatable means for sweeping cracked ice out of said chamber through said mouth, a discharge spout pivotally mounted to said housing rotatable between a first position covering said mouth and a second position extending outwardly from said mouth, spring means connected between said spout and said housing for biasing said spout into said first position, said spring having a tension such that the force exerted by the cracked ice being swept from said mouth is sufficient to overcome the bias of said spring, a recess in the outer wall of said housing forming a space for said spout When in said first position whereby said spout is substantially flush with said housing when in said first posit-ion.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said spring means comprises an over-center spring for biasing said spout in either said first or second position whereby the force of theejected ice causes the spout to move from said first to said second position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 20,552 1/58 Dickenhof 146-285 1,720,789 7/29 Heusser 220- 2,212,883 8/40 Meeker et al 241-257 X 2,315,018 3/43 Lawrence 222-517 X 2,665,160 1/54 Puzik 292-216 2,905,398 9/59 De Angelis et a1. 241-257 3,048,309 8/62 Albiani 222-517 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner.

I. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Examiner- 

1. AN ICE CURSHING DEVICE WHICH COMPRISES, A HOUSING A CHAMBER WITHIN SAID HOUSING, A TUBULAR CHUTE POSITIONED ABOVE SAID CHAMBER FOR FEEDING ICE DOWNWARDLY INTO SAID CHAMBER, ROTATABLE MEANS FOR CRACKONG ICE IN SAID CHAMBER, A DISCHARGE MOUTH ECTENDING FROM SAID CHAMBER OUTWARDLY THROUGH SAID HOUSING, AN ARM ON SAID ROTATABLE MEANS FOR SWEEPING CRACKED ICE OUT OF SAID CHAMBER OUTWARDLY THROUGH SAID MOUTH, A DISCHARGE SPOUT PIVOTALLY MOUNTED TO SAID HOUSING ROTATABLE BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION COVERING SAID MOUTH AND A SECOND POSITION EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID MOUTH, SPRING MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID SPOUT AND SAID HOUSING FOR BIASING SAID SPOUT INTO SAID FIRST POSITION, SAID SPRING HAVING A TENSION SUCH THAT THE FORCE EXERTED BY THE CRACKED ICE BEING SWEPT FROM SAID MOUTH IS SUFFICIENT TO OVERCOME THE BIAS OF SAID SPRING, A RECESS IN THE OUTER WALL OF SAID HOUSING FORMING A SPACE FOR SAID SPOUT WHEN IN SAID FIRST POSITION WHEREBY SAID SPOUT IS SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH WITH SAID HOUSING WHEN IN SAID FIRST POSITION. 